Scientific Family
Poaceae
Synonyms
Bouteloua arenosa, Chondrosum barbata, Chondrosum exile, Chondrosum microstachyum, Chondrosum polystachyum, C. subscorpioides
Plant type
Grasses
Riparian
No
Grass Description
Origin
Native
Season
Warm
Found in open, rocky or sandy slopes and washes, often weedy on disturbed soils.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
0
High elevation
6000
General Description
Small tufted short annual grass with numerous erect or spreading stems that grows to about 1 foot high. Seedheads have 4 to 12 comb-like branches.
Annual, many slender trailing stems. Sheaths smooth with hairs at the collar. Leaves <2mm wide. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Seedhead 4 to 12 branches of up to 40 one-sided spikelets, spikelets have one fertile and one rudimentary floret, lemmas awned.
Grass type
Annual
Rhizomes
No
Stolons
No
Clump Diameter 2 ft or more
No
Bushy - highly branched
No
Height with Seedheads
Less than 12 inches
Seedhead Structure
Branched - comblike
Seedhead droops
No
First bloom month
July
Last bloom month
October
Flower Characteristics
Flowers per Spikelet
Multi-flowered
Spikelets One-Sided
Yes
Awns
Less than 1/4 inch
Three Awns
Yes
Awns bent
No
Flower and Seedhead Notes
Seedhead with 4 to 12 comb-like branches with up to 40 spikelets per branch. Spikelets have 1 to 2 or occasionally 3 florets. The basal floret is fertile, the distal florets are sterile.
Vegetative Characteristics
Blade is hairy
Yes
Blade margins white
No
Blade cross-section
Flat
Folded
Leaves are <1/8 inch wide, 2-1/2 inches long. Top surfaces are usually sparsely clothed with soft hairs or down, with a few nipple-like hairs basally.
Sheath is hairy
No
Tufts of hair top of sheath or collar
Yes
Ligule
Membranous and hairy
Auricles
No
Sixweeks grama provides poor forage for livestock. Plants are small, produce green feed for a short time, and have a weak root system that allows them to be pulled up easily during grazing. Sixweeks grama is almost worthless as forage after maturity.